Unfort. our own ‘esteemed leaders’ of the GOP can’t make the same case; I’d suspect the prying eyes of the public would make them all hypocrites as well (how many interns/etc. are needed per office holder??)

Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.

Based on what the leadership has done recently (folding like a lawn chair on every damn thing coming down the pipe), exactly how banding together would have been any different??

The GOP would still not have the Senate and these problems would still be on their plate. So nothing would still get done, the media would still be blaming the GOP and the GOP would still be bending over for their ankles cuz they were called bad names. Theres no real fight to reduce ANY part of govt coming from the GOP; no real plan (oh, the 5/10yr. models...SURE).

Ill even contend, w/ the CT shooting, Mitt would be on the forefront for new gun laws and possibly even another AWB bill. So, again, what difference would it have been??

Hillary is ready to run in 2016. If the GOP nominates another loser for POTUS the US could be ruled by a "Government Party," Like Mexico's PRI (the oxymoronic name in English would be the "Institutional Revolutionary Party"), which ruled Mexico for 71 years.

But even a talented conservative might not be able to overcome the ignorance/apathy of voters. Especially after amnesty.

Seems to me, most here are ready to tow the party line...if they ‘have’ to again *spit*. There is no indication of any change coming, no infighting to let the base (and those of us outside) know that something better is trying to come along.

No, most will still belittle us as ‘fringe’ and ‘kooks’, while the Left consolidates their power. They want to work within the party (again, again, again) cause 3rd party could take YEARS to develop (the same BS the Left uses against drilling at home).

When (IF) the GOP ever do the right thing again, I’ll gladly vote for ‘em, but I’m laying down my convictions because the D.C. crowd says it’s the best they got...Because that’s worked so well during these $$ talks, right?

That's a hell of a understatement. I was pessimistic before the election (unlike many here) and even more so now.

On FNS the panel was saying that Republicans will lose this fight on taxes but will force O (Desm) to cut spending by using the debt limit. I am just repeating what I heard, I have no opinion on this yet.

But the most interesting was on ABC This Week, a couple on there were said that Obama’s goal since the election is/was to fuel the fire of a Republican civil war, and so far he is successful.

This is exactly what I have been posting here for weeks. That is why he calls his tax demand BOTH a tax cut (playing voters) and a tax increase (stroking the R flames) so Rs hold out for a while so when they finally give him what he demands he will look like a hero, and Republicans stupid, and then they will implode.

I may have been hasty saying Pelosi will take the House though, redistricting may make that difficult for them to do that as Impy pointed out to me. But they can still pick up seats in the Senate.

RE :”But even a talented conservative might not be able to overcome the ignorance/apathy of voters. Especially after amnesty. “

We have a hell of a lot of fools on the Rs side, first the two phony POTUS runs last year duped way too many (I TOLD YOU THEY WERE NOT RUNNING), then the birth control/rape comments, the slut comment, and the final straw was the 47% tape/comment by Mitt. Not only were these a great way to re-elect O but how many “Right on. This is exactly what voters want to hear” comments did you read? And all the 'the polls showing Romney is losing are rigged' comments?

No, most will still belittle us as fringe and kooks, while the Left consolidates their power.

Woe to anyone who disagrees with Limbaugh on this forum. I didn't like Sandra Fluke's agenda, but after I posted that Limbaugh's in-the-air claim that she was a "sl**" was just helping Obama, some FR Politburo posters informed me that I was a left wing agent.

RE :”But the most interesting was on ABC This Week, a couple on there were said that Obamas goal since the election is/was to fuel the fire of a Republican civil war, and so far he is successful. ...... Krauthammer has been saying that for many weeks, and I think he is right.”

Me too, The fact that Bohner was stopped try to beat O at his own game with cynical plan B showed me that O is many steps ahead of Rs and many here. He knows exactly how to blow the dog whistle to get them to make sure elected Republicans will lose the battle for public opinion against O and will eventually cave to him on bigger stuff and then self destruct.

Their tax position is not winnable, all the taxes go up Jan 1. Yet they keep implying that doing nothing is blocking tax increases when it is not true. That is a recipe for disaster.

RE :”When (IF) the GOP ever do the right thing again, Ill gladly vote for em, but Im laying down my convictions because the D.C. crowd says its the best they got...Because thats worked so well during these $$ talks, right?”

Let me tell you whats worked. Obama’s plan to destroy the Republican party has worked. You ever ask yourself how O wins these over and over? Does he *win* always making a dramatic symbolic stand against public opinion that ends in humiliating defeat like the R side keeps doing ? Well exactly 2 years ago O got the Pelosi lame duck House to extend all the tax cuts for exactly two years to give him an election issue against the coming nominee, which worked too, and to leave a time bomb he could use now to destroy Republicans when they expire.

Here's the reason that holding out on extending part of the tax cuts will lose,(they will give in) and help Obama: Republicans call extending some of the tax cuts ‘tax increases’. That is intellectually dishonest and is sure to lose. O knows this. Anyone should know this. That is why O fuels the fire by calling them both.

RE :”Woe to anyone who disagrees with Limbaugh on this forum. I didn't like Sandra Fluke's agenda, but after I posted that Limbaugh's in-the-air claim that she was a “sl**” was just helping Obama, some FR Politburo posters informed me that I was a left wing agent.”

What does any of what you just said have due with civil servants getting a one half of one percent raise? The first such raise in three and one half years. This is after being asked to contribute more to health care and retirement. Government spending is out of control, and the lavish vacations and wasteful crony capitalist projects (Solindra et al) are bad. But it is social security and medicare that is driving the debt. Not a one half of one percent raise for Fed Employees. I just think some on here need to “lighten up” about this story. This is a distraction from the real problem. Fed employee make in real dollars about seven or eight percent less when Obama took office. And, he can not just raise their pay whenever he wants. This executive order only implements Congressionally approved salaries that were frozen BY EXECUTIVE ORDER.

The fix has been in for a long time. They are getting there goodies before the shtf. If this was a problem, would not the opposing party be screaming to any camera they seen? Wait to these people pass fun control.

I mentioned that there were pay adjustments based upon location, but I only posted the base pay because it was simpler and took up less space than listing base and then locality pays for a couple of dozen areas.

I wonder if there are more federal workers in the DC area than the rest of the country? I know that most places in the south, exculding hi-cost of living Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Tampa are at the base pay level.

Having spent time in DC while in the Army, the COLA is needed by lower GS families/folks unless you are “dual income no kids.”

Very telling. Our County government TOOK about 8% of prior increases away from employees at last negotiation. They also made them pay 10 % more of their medical care and reduced retirement benefits for new hires.

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